Blog for a military history buff - livejournal. Defeat or the Day of Special Forces - Anempodist Chizhikov - LiveJournal 19th Special Forces Company

URSN (Special purpose training company listen)) - the first special forces unit in the internal troops of the Soviet Union.

According to the staff, URSN was the 9th company of the 3rd motorized rifle battalion of the 2nd motorized rifle regiment Separate motorized rifle division for special purposes of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs named after. F. E. Dzerzhinsky (OMSDON).

In the 70s and 80s, among the troops of the Moscow garrison and among employees of the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, it was better known as the “Ninth Company” - special forces of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Story

The question of creating special-purpose units first arose in preparation for the 1980 Olympics, which was to be held in Moscow. Everyone remembered the failure of the police operation to free the hostages in Munich, when the entire Israeli team, taken hostage by terrorists, died.

The structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at that time did not include staff unit, capable of solving problems of releasing hostages, detaining or eliminating highly trained armed groups. True, in 1973, SOVO (combined operational military detachment) was formed to solve special problems. He took part in the operation to free hostages held by terrorists in a hijacked plane at Bykovo airport. However, this formation was created temporarily, urgently, for a specific task. Military personnel from various units, as well as employees from various services, gathered into the detachment for the duration of the task. Accordingly, coherence, interaction and professionalism in such a unit were lame.

Taking into account all of the above, on December 29, 1977, a special purpose training company (URSN) was created. The first company commander was Captain V.A. Maltsev (in 2002, Major General, Deputy Chief of Operations of the Main Command of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia), and one of the platoon commanders was Lieutenant Sergei Lysyuk, the future commander of the Vityaz, Hero of Russia. The choice of the 9th company was not accidental. By general level physical training It certainly outnumbered the other units not only of the 2nd Regiment, but of the entire division. The company was a sports unit that served as a base, a reserve for the Dynamo society, and was staffed exclusively by conscripts who, at the time of conscription, had a sports rank of at least a candidate for master of sports in athletics, gymnastics, boxing, wrestling (sambo, judo), shooting and other sports disciplines.

The company had three platoons, twenty people in each: 1st - construction, 2nd - for preparation for actions in the gym and for demonstration to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Boxers, wrestlers, acrobats, gymnasts, etc. were selected for the platoon. The 3rd platoon was also athletic, but focused on handling weapons. He prepared like a fire fighter. The weapons were standard. But the 3rd platoon additionally had two AKM assault rifles with PBS.

It was in this unit that, for the first time in the Soviet Union, the Maroon beret was adopted as a uniform headdress. By the spring of 1978, by order of the deputy commander of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant General Sidorov, 50 berets were brought from Gorky. 25 green and 25 maroon. The uniform was ordinary. Only the 2nd Platoon wore uniforms for hot climates. It differed from the usual one in that straight-cut trousers with ankle fastenings and boots were worn. This form was considered the highest chic. Later, the right to wear this headdress was granted only to fighters who had reached a certain level of combat and physical training. For this purpose, the applicant had to pass the Test. URSN - the first special forces unit in the internal troops Soviet Union. It was in this company that the traditions of the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were born. It was this company that served as the foundation for the creation in the future of all special forces units of the USSR Air Force and subsequently the Russian Air Force. It was on the basis of UBSN, after the company was reformed into a battalion, that the first Vityaz unit was formed. In fact, URSN is the founder of the VV special forces.

At the first stage, a program was created that provided for actions in various emergency situations on Olympic Games ah, namely when taking hostages in ground transport, on an airplane. The program materials were based on the experience and developments of special forces of the KGB, Airborne Forces, and foreign anti-terrorist units.

Intensive training made it possible to prepare the company for the Olympics to perform assigned tasks with high quality. The company at that time often trained together with Group “A” of the KGB of the USSR (Alpha) that was being created at that time. The URSN fighters were superior to Alpha in terms of physical training, but the Alpha fighters were better in firepower. Here it should be recalled that officers served in Alpha, and conscripts served in URSN.

URSN, or, as it was also called, the 9th company, was a legend not only of the Dzerzhinsky Division, but also of the internal troops as a whole.

Participation in combat operations

• An operation to free hostages held by armed criminals in one of the schools near Izhevsk in the summer of 1981. None of the hostages were injured.

• Suppression riots on the basis of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict in Ordzhonikidze on October 21, 1981, detention of the instigators.

• Security for investigators from the Prosecutor General's Office who were involved in the “Uzbek case” in 1984.

• On September 20, 1986, together with group “A” of the KGB of the USSR, he took part in an operation to detain armed criminals who killed several police officers and free the plane they had hijacked in Ufa.

• February 1988 - suppression of Armenian pogroms in the city of Sumgait, Azerbaijan SSR, detention of riot organizers and active participants.

• July 4. Operation to unblock the runway and air traffic control tower of Zvartnots Airport in Yerevan, seized by extremists in order to prevent the arrival of military transport aircraft with OMSDON units. The airport was unblocked without bloodshed, which allowed the planes to land safely and the arriving units to turn around on time.

• September 1988 - guarding the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, senior officials of the ministry.

• The second half of 1988 - special measures to suppress the activities of illegal gangs in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and Baku.

• In 1989 in Fergana Valley A conflict broke out between Uzbek extremists and Meskhetian Turks. As a result of the skillful actions of the company's soldiers and officers, the lives of hundreds of people of different nationalities were saved, many crimes were prevented, and a large number of weapons, the instigators of the riots were arrested, gangs that were preparing terrorist attacks against civilians were eliminated.

• In 1990, in a temporary detention center in Sukhumi, a group of prisoners sentenced to death penalty took the temporary detention center employees hostage, after which they opened the cells with the arrested, took possession of the weapons stored in the detention center, previously confiscated from the population, and demanded transport. The operation to free the hostages was carried out jointly by members of the USSR KGB special unit “Alpha” and URSN fighters. As a result of the operation, the organizers of the riot were destroyed, and none of the hostages were injured. One Alpha employee and one URSN soldier were wounded.

The Fergana events prompted the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to increase the organizational and staffing structure of the special forces unit of the Internal Troops. In 1989, URSN was reorganized into a battalion (UBSN), on the basis of which, on May 5, 1991, the formation of the special unit “Vityaz” began. Subsequently, other special forces units were created in the internal troops, but the day of the creation of the URSN can rightfully be considered the birthday of everything military special forces Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Notes

Sources

• On June 19, ceremonial events will take place dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the formation of a separate operational division of the internal troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

In just a few years, units and subunits of the Special Forces experienced an amazing round of development: from serious reductions and reassignment to the formation of new brigades and even battalions, re-equipping the latest designs weapons and military equipment, communications, reconnaissance and surveillance devices. But, even despite the successful actions " polite people“In Crimea, Russian special forces have a lot of serious problems.

Everything that has been happening in special forces units since 2009 has received the quite apt name “chaotic throwing” or, even more simply, “chaos” from the special forces themselves. As they joke in units and divisions of the Special Forces: “ At first they withered, but now we are trying to bloom in a new way. But everything is somehow unsuccessful».

Wild brigades

From the very beginning announced by the ex-Minister of Defense and former boss General Staff transition to a new look, special forces brigades underwent sudden reductions and reorganization. Moreover, units and units of the Special Forces, by a strong-willed decision of the leadership of the military department, were reassigned to the intelligence department of the Ground Forces, leaving the structure of the GRU of the General Staff. But the department responsible for special forces remained in the GRU.

In 2009, the 12th (city of Asbest) and 67th (Berdsk) special purpose brigades were disbanded, and the 24th Special Forces Brigade managed to change several locations in just a year and a half, moving first from near Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk, and then to Berdsk, losing with each movement military personnel who did not want to continue serving in the new garrisons.

According to some reports, it was planned to disband the youngest brigade - the 10th Special Operations Brigade from Krasnodar Molkino, created in 2003 to solve special problems in the North Caucasus. However, the situation in the region forced us to abandon these plans. But nevertheless, one of the brigade’s detachments was transferred to the newly formed experimental 100th reconnaissance brigade.

In other special forces units and units, the positions of officers and warrant officers were cut, and the number of conscripted military personnel, replacing contract soldiers, increased significantly. At one time, unit commanders had a special schedule for the dismissal of contract soldiers, the implementation of which was asked at each meeting.

According to the initial plan, approved by the former National General Staff, for a group of 12 people, two or three contract servicemen were enough - a deputy group commander, a sniper and a signalman. As the special forces soldiers themselves say, first they tore everything apart, and then they began to build a new system, without fully understanding what they wanted in the end.

In 2009, so-called national special-purpose battalions appeared in several combined arms brigades. In particular, in the 19th Motorized Rifle Brigade such a battalion is staffed by servicemen of Ingush nationality, and in the 18th and 8th brigades - mainly by Chechens.

The Olympics in Sochi brought even greater chaos to the reform of special forces units. To ensure this, the Ministry of Defense began the formation of a special-purpose brigade - the 346th special forces brigade and a separate regiment - the 25th special forces brigade. According to some reports, the main task of these military units was to protect the Sochi area from possible terrorist raids from the Greater Caucasus Range.

It is noteworthy that until 2012, before the appointment of Sergei Shoigu as Minister of Defense, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had only one special-purpose regiment - the 45th Special Forces Airborne Forces, although formally (despite the name) it was not part of the structure of the GRU special forces units. And the 25th regiment, stationed in Stavropol, became a unique military unit. According to some reports, his companies were assigned areas of responsibility in the mountains even at the formation stage. The regiment coped with the task of protecting the Olympics “excellently,” however, like other involved units and units of the Special Forces.

Since 2013, the special forces, having returned under the wing of the GRU, began, as the servicemen themselves joke, “to multiply rapidly.” In just two years, national Special Forces battalions appeared as part of the 4th and 7th military bases. It is noteworthy that these units are staffed mainly by residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, only those who have passports of Russian citizens.

Special purpose companies appeared in the reconnaissance battalions of several brigades, in particular the 34th motorized rifle (mountain) brigade. After an unsuccessful experiment, a special forces detachment from the 100th reconnaissance brigade returned to the 10th special forces brigade, and in its place a reconnaissance battalion with two special forces companies was formed. Until recently, the 33rd reconnaissance brigade (mountain) also existed under the same staff. True, this military unit in Once again reorganized, but into a regular motorized rifle brigade.

It should be noted that each combined arms, air assault brigade (regiment) has a company of snipers, which is also formally a special forces unit. At the same time, in the North Caucasus 8, 18, 19th motorized rifle brigades, in addition to sniper companies and special forces battalions, there are also groups of snipers - as they say in the North Caucasus Military District, motorized rifle special forces brigades.

Despite the return of units and units of the Special Forces to the structure of the Main Intelligence Directorate, a paradoxical situation arose with their subordination. For example, Special Forces brigades are subordinate to the GRU, and various battalions and companies are simultaneously subordinate to brigade commanders, army and district intelligence chiefs, and in some cases, to the chief of staff and personally to the district commander. At the same time, the GRU is responsible for their training, as well as, under certain conditions, for combat use.

Whatever the warrior is, it's Rambo

In fact, in two years, a kind of special forces took place in the Russian Armed Forces, when special forces units appeared even in motorized rifle and tank brigades. It is clear that the need not only for trained intelligence officers, but also for signalmen, special miners, etc. has increased many times over. We must not forget about the snipers, who must finish special courses, which until recently were held only in the Moscow region.

One of the attempts to solve the problem of training specialists was to expand the capabilities of specialized training centers for reconnaissance military personnel and special forces soldiers in each district. For example, in the North Caucasus District, the Daryal center specializes in mountain training, and a similar military unit in the Central Military District specializes in operations in winter conditions, particularly in wooded and hilly areas.

But as special forces officers admit, the main problem– a small proportion of contract military personnel, especially in newly formed sniper companies, as well as companies and battalions of special forces. Often there are two or three contract soldiers for several dozen conscripts. The personnel situation in the Special Forces brigades is not much better, although the commanders there, from the beginning of the creation of the new look, made every effort to preserve the core of the existing military teams.

It is worth noting: despite the widespread belief that all Special Forces brigades before the new look were contract ones, the percentage of conscripts in Special Forces units was quite large. Only the North Caucasian 10th and 22nd Specialized Brigades could boast a high proportion of professionals. Although in August 2008, the 108th Special Forces detachment of the 22nd Brigade, which was urgently transferred to South Ossetia, had to be reinforced with combined reconnaissance groups of contract servicemen from other units of this Special Forces.

Until recently, out of four companies and individual platoons in special forces units of brigades, only one company was fully contracted, not counting individual military personnel, in particular armored personnel carrier drivers, signalmen, miners, etc. All other units consisted of conscripts. It is clear that they tried not to involve conscripts to carry out combat missions, so for the brigade’s task it was difficult to deploy one special forces detachment from three special forces companies, a special weapons company and individual platoons.

True, by now a decision has been made “not to spread a thin layer” of contract servicemen throughout the entire brigade (battalion), but to form a so-called contract detachment or company.

One of the most pressing problems is the training of special forces snipers. Even sniper companies of combined arms brigades are currently equipped with several Austrian Steyr-Manlicher SSG-04 rifles. They prepare for several months at courses in the Moscow region, where they not only master Steyr, but also undergo special tactical training, topography, camouflage, etc.

So far, only officers and contract military personnel are sent to the courses, since the conscript will most likely be transferred to the reserve after completing the courses. The classes are quite complex and require candidates not only to have physical endurance, but also high level intelligence. Alas, it is not always possible to select such a contingent. Often, military personnel return to their units after being discharged. It is noteworthy that the snipers of one of the motorized rifle brigades received certificates of completion of the courses, but based on the results of the training, they were not entrusted with complex and expensive Austrian rifles.

Soldiers of unconventional warfare

Not only the structure and composition of the units and units of the Special Forces, but also the tasks have undergone changes. Despite the fact that the documents regulating the combat use of special forces remain classified as “Secret” and even “Top Secret,” one can learn from open sources that one of the main tasks of special forces units is conducting so-called special reconnaissance. It's about not only about observation, but also about conducting ambushes, raids and searches deep behind enemy lines. Currently, these tasks have also been supplemented by work in zones of local conflicts.

If we look at the American charter FM 3-18 Special Forces Operations, adopted in May 2014, we will find that the so-called special reconnaissance is not included in the “short list” of the American “Green Berets”, whose main task, as indicated in Chapter 3 field regulations, conducting unconventional warfare, literally - unconventional warfare. The second most important task is considered to be the training of foreign specialists, and the third is counter-insurgency operations.

The experience of counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus has proven that it is time for special forces units to move from special reconnaissance to work in a much wider range. According to some information, the new combat manual of special forces units contains new sections regulating assigned tasks.

However, such an expansion of functions does not always find understanding not only among the special forces themselves, but also, more importantly, among the military command and control bodies responsible for planning the combat use of units and subunits of the Special Forces, who traditionally believe that their main task is conducting reconnaissance, as well as protecting headquarters , moving points management and command staff.

Although the annexation of Crimea to Russia last year once again proved that special forces are not only reconnaissance behind enemy lines, but also a tool for solving complex military-political problems. The special forces were not deployed for the purpose of reconnaissance, but blocked military units, acted against hostile elements, organized local self-defense forces - in fact, they conducted the very unconventional warfare prescribed in American regulations. But, despite those declared in the new Russian documents missions, the combat training program in most units and divisions of the Special Forces is still focused mainly on reconnaissance.

It is worth noting that in the US Army the Green Berets are organized into special forces groups assigned to certain regions globe. In particular, the 1st group of special forces forces, based in Fort Lewis, operates in the Pacific region, the 10th is focused on Europe, the Balkans, etc.

Depending on the military specialty, the training of an American special forces soldier takes from one year (engineer, heavy weapons specialist) to two years (medic). The structure of not only groups, but also the entire Special Operations Command is optimized for unconventional warfare.

The question is, is such special forces advisable in the Russian army? What unconventional fighting Can it be conducted by a special-purpose company as part of a reconnaissance battalion, which actually performs the task of previously existing reconnaissance and landing companies, or by a sniper company of a combined arms or even an air assault brigade, moreover, staffed primarily by conscripts?

It must be admitted that the overwhelming majority of newly formed units of the Special Forces are not special forces, but rather some kind of military intelligence agency with increased capabilities. But the success of the “polite people” in Crimea led the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to a paradoxical conclusion: instead of structuring the chaotic mass of various companies, battalions, regiments and special forces brigades and clearly distributing tasks and areas of responsibility between them, special forces continues.

True, judging by the latest decisions of the military department, in particular the reorganization of the 45th reconnaissance regiment Airborne Forces into a separate reconnaissance brigade, as well as changes to the organizational and staffing structures of units and subunits of the Special Forces, most likely, quantity is still beginning to turn into quality.

Return status

In less than six years of reductions and reorganization, units and units of the Special Forces have grown, even becoming part of combined arms brigades. True, the special forces have so far created a large number of difficulties: there is no established structure, no trained specialists.

« There is never too much special forces. This is a one-piece tool for complex work.“- this phrase can summarize the opinion of many military personnel regarding what is happening now in special forces units.

And yet, it cannot be denied that over the course of several years, the Russian Armed Forces, despite all the difficulties, have developed well-trained special forces units capable of solving even such complex tasks as unconventional combat operations, as the events in Crimea proved. The conclusion suggests itself: special forces must be elite. And by definition there cannot be too much of it. So let military intelligence remain intelligence, without any “specials”. This will not diminish her authority.

The combat use of military formations performing reconnaissance and special missions behind enemy lines has its own rich history. Today we can remember the horse-jaeger teams of Field Marshal P.A. Rumyantsev; famous organizers partisan movement M.I. Kutuzov and Prince P.I. Bagration; actions behind enemy lines by D.V. Davydov; the civil war in Spain and saboteur No. 1 I.G. Starinov, and many, many others.

Modern special forces did not appear out of nowhere. During the Civil War, special military units were created in a number of armies and fronts that trained saboteurs, transported them behind enemy lines, and led them. In the 1930s, in the event of war in the border military districts, sabotage and guerrilla detachments and groups were trained on the basis of engineering and sapper units, which were called “camouflage sapper platoons.” During the Great Patriotic War The military intelligence bodies of the fronts created a significant number of special military formations to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage operations behind enemy lines. Everyone is well aware of the famous separate special forces brigade in which she served.WWII hero Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.

With the change in the military-political situation in the world after the end of the Second World War and the emergence nuclear weapons a decision was made to create special-purpose companies in the combined arms and mechanized armies, in the airborne army and in military districts that did not have armies. On October 24, 1950, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, signed Directive No. ORG/2/395/832, ordering the formation by May 1, 1951 of 46 special forces companies with a staff strength of 120 people, in all military districts, groups of forces and fleets. This day is considered to be the birthday of GRU special forces units.

Personnel The first units were selected from army intelligence. The rich experience of reconnaissance and sabotage activities of Soviet partisans and reconnaissance saboteurs was widely used.

By May 1, 1951, 46 companies with a staff strength of 120 people were formed. All of them were subordinate to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. In fact, special purpose companies could be called “companies of paratrooper miners,” but due to the special focus of their tasks, they received the name they received.

The new formation was tasked with the following tasks: organizing and conducting reconnaissance, destroying any means of nuclear attack, identifying military formations andcarrying out special missions behind enemy lines, organizing and carrying out sabotage actions, creating behind enemy linesrebel (partisan) detachments, etc.

Over time, the structure and quantitative composition of special forces changed more than once, but the essence of its purpose always remained the same.

At the very beginning of the 50s, the Soviet Army suffered a large reduction. Divisions, brigades and regiments were reduced by tens and hundreds, many corps, armies and districts were disbanded. The GRU special forces did not escape the fate of reductions either - in 1953, 35 special forces companies were disbanded. Special intelligence was saved from complete reduction by General N.V. Ogarkov, who was able to prove to the government the need to have similar formations in the USSR Armed Forces.

A total of 11 special purpose companies were retained. There are companies left in the most important operational areas:

• 18th separate special purpose company of the 36th combined arms army of the Trans-Baikal Military District (in the area of ​​the city of Borzya);
• 26th separate special purpose company of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Army of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (garrison in Fürstenberg);
• 27th separate special purpose company (district) in the Northern Group of Forces (Poland, Strzegom);
• 36th separate special purpose company of the 13rd combined arms army of the Carpathian Military District (Khmelnitsky);
• 43rd separate special purpose company of the 7th Guards Army of the Transcaucasian Military District (Lagodekhi);
• 61st separate special purpose company of the 5th combined arms army of the Primorsky Military District (Ussuriysk);
• 75th separate special forces company in the Special Mechanized Army (Hungary, Nyiregyhaza);
• 76th separate special purpose company of the 23rd combined arms army of the Leningrad Military District (Pskov);
• 77th separate special purpose company of the 8th mechanized army of the Carpathian Military District (Zhitomir);
• 78th separate special purpose company (district) in the Tauride Military District (Simferopol);
• 92nd separate special purpose company of the 25th combined arms army of the Primorsky Military District (Fighter Kuznetsov).

Among total number disbanded special forces companies, mention should be made of companies that, in addition to general “special forces” training, also had special conditions of service: for example, soldiers of the 99th separate special forces company (district) of the Arkhangelsk Military District in combat training were focused on performing tasks in difficult conditions Arctic, intelligence officers of the 200th separate special forces company of the Siberian Military District studied “Chinese. theater of military operations, and the personnel of the 227th separate special forces company of the 9th combined arms army of the North Caucasus Military District underwent mountain training.

In 1956, the 61st separate special purpose company of the 5th combined arms army of the Far Eastern Military District was redeployed to the Turkestan Military District in the city of Kazandzhik. Probably, the leadership of the General Staff finally decided to pay attention to the southern “Islamic” direction. The second wave of the formation of separate special-purpose companies occurred in the early 70s.

Apparently, at this time the fathers of the General Staff decided to give a “special purpose tool” not only to the fronts (districts), but also to some combined arms formations. As a result, several separate companies were formed for armies and army corps. Several companies were formed for internal military districts that previously did not have special reconnaissance units. In particular, the 791st separate special-purpose company was formed in the Siberian Military District. In the Western Group of Forces in Germany and on Far East separate companies were formed in each army.

In 1979, the 459th separate special-purpose company was formed as part of the Turkestan Military District for the purpose of subsequent use in Afghanistan. The company will be introduced into the DRA and will show itself in the best possible way. Another wave of the formation of separate special-purpose companies occurred in the mid-80s. Then companies were formed in all armies and corps, which until that moment did not have such units. Companies were formed even in such exotic (but completely justified) directions as Sakhalin (877th separate special-purpose company of the 68th Army Corps) and Kamchatka (571st separate special-purpose company of the 25th Army Corps).

In 1957, the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces decided to reorganize five special forces companies into battalions. By the end of the year, the USSR Armed Forces included five special-purpose battalions and four separate special-purpose companies:

· 26th separate special forces battalion of the GSVG (Furstenberg);

· 27th Special Purpose Hotel Battalion SGV (Strzegom);

· 36th separate special purpose battalion of the PrikVO (Khmelnitsky);

· 43rd separate special purpose battalion 3akVO (Lagodekhi);

· 61st separate special purpose battalion of TurkVO (Kazandzhik);

· 18th separate special purpose company 36th unit 3aBVO (Borzya);

· 75th separate special purpose company of the South Georgian Army (Nyiregyhaza);

· 77th separate special purpose company 8th TD PrikVO (Zhitomir);

· 78th separate special purpose company of the OdVO (Simferopol).

At the same time, two companies were disbanded, whose personnel went to staff new battalions. For example, the 92nd separate special forces company of the 25th Army of the Far Eastern Military District was urgently loaded onto a train and sent to Poland - on the basis of this company and the 27th company of the Northern Group of Forces in the SGV, the 27th separate special forces battalion was formed .. The transfer of special forces units to a battalion structure made it possible to optimize educational process, freeing a significant part of the personnel from garrison and guard duty. Three battalions were concentrated in the western (European) direction, one was in the Caucasus and another in Central Asia.

There were three companies in the western direction, and at that time we had only one special purpose company in east direction as part of the 36th Army of the Transbaikal Military District. Subsequently, after the creation of brigades, special-purpose battalions began to be called “detachments,” and organizationally they were all part of the brigades. Starting from the 60s, battalions did not exist as independent combat units, with the exception of individual brigade detachments, which could be separated from the formation for operations in individual operational directions, but in Peaceful time continued to remain in the brigades.

The experience of conducting combat training and various exercises has shown the need to create formations in the GRU system that are much larger than the existing individual battalions, which could solve an expanded range of tasks.

In particular, during a threatened period, special forces units were supposed to engage not only in reconnaissance and sabotage behind enemy lines, but also in the formation partisan detachments in occupied territory (or in territory that could be occupied). In the future, relying on these partisan formations, the special forces had to solve their problems. It was the partisan orientation that was the priority combat mission of the created formations.

In accordance with the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU of August 20, 1961 “On the training of personnel and the development of special equipment for organizing and equipping partisan detachments,” the directive of the General Staff of February 5, 1962, in order to train and accumulate personnel for the deployment of the partisan movement in wartime, the commander of military districts was it was ordered to select 1,700 reserve military personnel, bring them into a brigade and conduct thirty-day training sessions.

After training, the personnel were assigned special military specialties. They were prohibited from being booked for national economy and not used for its intended purpose.

By a directive of the General Staff of March 27, 1962, projects for the staffing of special forces brigades for peace and war were developed.

Since 1962, the creation of 10 squadron brigades began, the formation and arrangement of which was largely completed by the end of 1963:

• 2nd obrSpN(military unit 64044), formed on December 1, 1962 (according to other sources, in 1964) on the basis of the collapsed 76th Special Forces of the Leningrad Military District and the personnel of the 237th Guards Parachute Regiment, first commander - D.N. Grishakov; Leningrad Military District, Pechory, Promezhitsy;
• 4th ObrSpN(military unit 77034), formed in 1962 in Riga, first commander - D.S. Zhizhin; Baltic Military District, then transferred to Viljandi;
• 5th ObrSpN(military unit 89417), formed in 1962, first commander - I.I. Kovalevsky; Belarusian Military District, Maryina Gorka;
• 8th ObrSpN(military unit 65554), formed in 1962 on the basis of the 36th OBSpN, Carpathian Military District, Izyaslav, Ukraine;
• 9th ObrSpN(military unit 83483), formed in 1962, first commander - L.S. Egorov; Kiev Military District, Kirovograd, Ukraine;
• 10th ObrSpN(military unit 65564), formed in 1962, Odessa Military District, Old Crimea, Pervomaisky;
• 12th ObrSpN(military unit 64406), formed in 1962 on the basis of the 43rd BSPN, first commander - I.I. Geleverya; 3Caucasian Military District, Lagodekhi, Georgia;
• 14th ObrSpN(military unit 74854), formed on January 1, 1963 on the basis of the 77th orb, first commander - P.N. Rymin; Far Eastern Military District, Ussuriysk;
• 15th ObrSpN(military unit 64411), formed on January 1, 1963 on the basis of the 61st OBSpN, first commander - N.N. Lutsev; Turkestan Military District, Chirchik, Uzbekistan;
• 16th ObrSpN(military unit 54607), formed on January 1, 1963, first commander - D.V. Shipka; Moscow Military District, Chuchkovo.

The brigades were formed mainly by military personnel of the reconnaissance units of the airborne and ground forces. For example, the officer core of the 14th Special Operations Brigade of the Far Eastern Military District, when formed, was staffed by officers of the 98th Guards Airborne Division from Belogorsk (from which 14 officers who participated in the Second World War came to the brigade), and the personnel conscript service was recruited from military registration and enlistment offices.

Basically, the formation of the first ten brigades ended at the beginning of 1963, but, for example, the 2nd Special Brigade, according to some sources, was finally formed only in 1964.

The organizational and staffing structure of a separate special forces brigade in 1963 was as follows:

• brigade headquarters (about 30 people);
• one deployed Special Forces detachment (164 people on staff);
• a special radio communications detachment with a reduced staff (about 60 people);
• three squadroned Special Forces detachments;
• two squadroned separate Special Forces detachments;
• economic support company;

In addition, the brigade included such collapsed units as:

• special mining company;
• special weapons group (ATGM, RS "Grad-P", P3RK).

In peacetime, the number of a squadron brigade did not exceed 200-300 people; according to wartime standards, a fully deployed special forces brigade consisted of more than 2,500 people.

At the beginning of their existence, the brigades were squadroned, and in particular, in the 9th Special Operations Brigade, stationed in Ukraine in the city of Kirovograd, there were initially six detachments, in which only the first detachment had two special forces companies, a special weapons platoon and a special radio communications platoon. The remaining five detachments had only commanders. The command, headquarters and political department of the brigade consisted of thirty people. Colonel L.S. Egorov was appointed the first commander of the 9th brigade, but soon he received a spinal injury during parachute jumps, and Colonel V.I. Arkhireev was appointed commander of the brigade.

By the end of 1963, the USSR Armed Forces included (some in the process of formation):

• twelve separate special forces companies;
• two separate special forces battalions;
• ten separate special purpose brigades (cadres).

Soon, special forces units and units were reorganized, as a result of which by the end of 1964 the following remained in the USSR Armed Forces:

• six separate special forces companies;
• two separate special forces battalions (26th and 27th) in the western direction;
• ten separate squadroned special forces brigades.

In August 1965, the Chief of the General Staff approved the “Manual on the organization and tactics of partisans” for generals and military intelligence officers and special forces units engaged in combat training of personnel in guerrilla tactics.

At that time, special forces brigades were perceived by everyone as a reserve for deployment behind enemy lines guerrilla warfare. The special forces were even called that - partisans. The experience of creating such formations seems to have come from the preparation of the partisan special reserve in the late 20s - early 30s; as is known, all its participants were repressed in the late 30s.

In 1966, in the Odessa Military District, the 165th The educational center special purpose. The center was based in the Simferopol area and existed at least until 1990.

In 1966 in Fürstenberg (Garrison Werder, Neu-Timmen) on the basis of the 5th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Motorcycle Battalion (formerly the 5th Guards Warsaw-Berlin Reconnaissance Motorcycle Regiment during the war, which was formed in 1944) By directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the GSVG, on the basis of the 26th ObrSpN with the involvement of the forces of the 27th ObrSpN, 48th and 166th Orb, a new type of special forces formation was formed - the 3rd ObrSpN, which inherited the guards rank from the 5th Motorcycle Battalion . Colonel R.P. was appointed commander of the new brigade. Mosolov. The brigade received the code name military unit 83149. The main difference between the new brigade and the existing ones was that the brigade, even during its formation, expanded to a full, special staff, and also that the brigade included separate units - separate special forces units.

This brigade at that time was the most fully equipped (up to 1,300 personnel) and was in constant combat readiness to carry out its intended tasks. The brigade detachments were formed according to a slightly different staff than the brigade detachments that were stationed in the USSR. These detachments had a staff of 212 people, while the “allied” brigades had detachments with a staff of only 164 people. Full name of the unit: 3rd Separate Guards Red Banner Warsaw-Berlin Order of Suvorov 3rd Class Special Purpose Brigade.

Special forces units were formed within the brigade: 501st, 503rd, 509th, 510th, 512th.

In 1968, under the leadership of the senior officer of the GRU General Staff, Colonel Shchelokov, the 9th company of special forces cadets consisting of three platoons was created at the Lenin Komsomol RVVDKU, and in 1979 the company was deployed into a battalion of special forces (13th and 14th companies) .

Also, the Kiev Combined Arms Command School, which trained officers with the specialty “referent-translator,” was involved in training personnel for special forces.

In 1978 at the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze was created at the intelligence faculty of the 4th study group special forces officers. In 1981, the first graduation of the special forces group took place.

In 1969, on the basis of the 16th Special Operations Brigade of the Moscow Military District in the village of Chuchkovo, Ryazan Region, the GRU General Staff conducted an operational-strategic experimental exercise, the purpose of which was to work out the issues of combat use of special-purpose units. To ensure the transfer of personnel and cargo behind enemy lines, military transport aviation was involved. Take-off and landing airfield - Dyagilevo. To designate nuclear and other weapons mass destruction, their security and defense, as well as to counter the landing, collect and store their parachutes, the personnel of six (2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th) special purpose brigades were involved.

In 1970, a special-purpose training company was deployed in Pechory, which was later reorganized into a training battalion, and then into the 1071st special-purpose training regiment (military unit 51064), which trained junior commanders and specialists for special-purpose units. At the 1071st UPSN there was a school for warrant officers for special forces units.

Since the mid-70s, the General Staff has found an opportunity to deploy brigades, increasing the number of personnel in them. As a result of this decision, it was possible to staff the brigade units by 60-80%. From this period, special forces brigades became combat-ready and were no longer considered only as a partisan reserve.

On June 12, 1975, the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces approved the “Instructions for the combat use of formations, units and subunits (brigade, detachment, battalion) for special purposes.”

In 1972, as part of the Group Soviet troops in Mongolia, two brigades were formed, the numbering of which is on the same line as the numbers of special-purpose brigades, but these brigades were called “separate reconnaissance brigades.” The new brigades included three separate reconnaissance battalions, armed with infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and units combat support, which was due to the nature of the terrain in the GSVM responsibility zone. However, each of these brigades had "jumping" reconnaissance and landing companies, and each brigade also had its own separate helicopter squadron. Most likely, when creating these brigades, the General Staff tried to find the optimal organization of special forces units that were to operate in mountainous desert areas.

As a result, the 20th and 25th separate reconnaissance brigades were formed. There were no such formations anywhere else in the Soviet Army. In the mid-80s, these brigades were reorganized into separate mechanized brigades and became part of the newly formed 48th Guards Army Corps, and with the collapse of the USSR, after the withdrawal of troops from Mongolia, they were disbanded.

At the end of the 1970s, the General Staff sought the opportunity to transfer special forces brigades from cadre to deployed personnel, as well as to find reserves for the formation of two more brigades. The 22nd Special Forces Brigade was formed on July 24, 1976 in the Central Asian Military District in the city of Kapchagay on the basis of one of the detachments of the 15th Brigade, a company of the special radio communications detachment of the 15th Brigade, the 525th and 808th separate special forces companies Central Asian and Volga military districts. Until 1985, the brigade was located in Kapchagai, later it changed locations several times and in given time located near the city of Aksai Rostov region(military unit 11659).

24th Special Forces Brigadewas formed in the Trans-Baikal Military District on November 1, 1977 on the basis of the 18th Special Forces and was initially stationed in the area of ​​the village. Kharabyrka village, Chita region (23rd site), then in 1987 it was transferred to the village. Kyakhta village, and in 2001 was transferred to Ulan-Ude (military unit 55433), and then to Irkutsk. When the brigade was transferred to Kyakhta, the 282nd special forces unit was transferred to the subordination of the 14th special forces brigade of the Far Eastern Military District and redeployed to the city of Khabarovsk.

Later, in 1984, in the Siberian Military District, on the basis of the 791st Special Forces Brigade, the 67th Special Forces Brigade was formed, which is stationed in the city of Berdsk Novosibirsk region(military unit 64655).

In 1985, during the Afghan war, in Chirchik, on the site of the 15th brigade that had gone to Afghanistan, the 467th special forces training regiment (military unit 71201) was formed, which trained personnel for special forces operating in Afghanistan. The regiment consisted of training battalions and support units. The training regiment had great privileges in the selection of personnel. If, when selecting conscripts for this regiment, an officer encountered any difficulties at the recruiting station, the issues that arose were resolved with one phone call to the GRU.

According to the staff, the special forces units that were part of the brigades stationed on the territory of the USSR included:

• three special forces companies (42 people each);

In total, the detachment consisted of 164 people.

Special Forces, included in the 3rd Guards ObrSpN, had the following state:

• squad management (6 people);
• three special forces companies (58 people each);
• special radio communications company (32 people).

In total, these detachments had 212 personnel.

A separate army special purpose company had different time the staff ranges from 115 to 127 people.

Soviet special forces were involved in combat operations abroad. The first major foreign special forces operation was carried out in 1968 in Prague (Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic). Presumably, units of the 3rd, 8th and 9th special forces brigades took part in the fighting in Czechoslovakia. Army special forces also participated in combat operations in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Cuba and Vietnam, and in Afghanistan. In total, army special forces sent their units to two dozen countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Special forces units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

• 10th separate special forces detachment (Kyiv)

• 3rd separate regiment special purpose (Kirovograd)

• 8th separate special purpose regiment (Khmelnitsky)
• 50th separate training detachment of special training (as a separate battalion) (Kirovograd)
• 801st separate detachment for combating underwater sabotage forces and means. (Sevastopol)
• 73rd Naval Center for Special Operations of the Ukrainian Navy (Ochakov).

Happy holiday, colleagues!!!

At the peak of its development, the special forces of the GRU General Staff consisted of sixteen separate brigades (obrSpN) for special purposes (one in each military district or group of forces) and separate companies (orSpN) - one in each combined arms army. With the exception of the Red Banner Transcaucasian Military District, where there were two (12th and 22nd, Kandahar) brigades.

Each special forces unit included a separate company - a special mining company - the most formidable (and secret) weapon of special forces - wearable nuclear landmines. Getting to serve in such a company was equally difficult and honorable - a kind of elite of the elite...

Specialists (signalmen and sappers), junior command staff, as well as warrant officers for special forces units were trained in Pechory (Leningrad Military District) in the 1071st Special Purpose Training Regiment (disbanded in 1999). In 1985, the 467th separate special purpose training regiment was formed in the city of Chirchik (Uzbek SSR, Turkestan Military District). They trained both sergeants and many specialists - reconnaissance snipers, gunner-operators, AGS-17 grenade launchers, sappers and radio operators, as well as ordinary reconnaissance officers.

Officers for special forces units were trained on the basis of the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. At first it was one company of cadets. Since 1981, in connection with the war in Afghanistan, on the basis of the platoons of the famous ninth company, the 13th and 14th companies were formed, later consolidated into a battalion. Since 1994, the full battalion was transferred to the Novosibirsk Higher Combined Arms Command School and deployed to a five-company strength (the First Chechen War began). Before the collapse of the USSR, in 1991, officers for special forces were trained by the intelligence department of the Kyiv Higher Educational Institution. The path to special forces was not closed to graduates of other general arms (infantry, in other words) schools. Graduates of Baku, Almaty, Tashkent, Far Eastern and other schools served no less valiantly in special forces units.

Specialist officers came from specialized schools. Engineers were provided by the Tyumen Higher Military Engineering Command School. Signalmen - Cherepovets Higher Military Command School of Signals. The Perm Higher Military Command and Engineering School of Missile Forces supplied specialists to special mining companies (the commander of the special mining group was jokingly called “commander atomic bomb", the group was small - only four reconnaissance officers). Motorists came from Chelyabinsk, airborne service specialists - from Ryazan, from the Faculty of Engineering.

Served in special forces units and naval officers. Each of the four fleets of the USSR Navy and the Caspian Flotilla had units naval special forces. Companies from individual brigades were regularly sent to naval units for maritime training. And the personnel of individual special forces companies (as well as reconnaissance battalions of combined arms divisions) underwent airborne training at the training base of individual brigades. In addition, the usual rotation of officers took place among military districts. As a result, in the small officer corps, almost everyone knew everyone, if not personally, then through a single handshake. This contributed to the formation of a special corporate spirit.

Retraining of special forces officers took place at the legendary "SHOT" courses in the city of Solnechnogorsk, Moscow Region, and for officers of special mining companies - in Zagoryansky. Some officers could continue their studies at the Military Academy named after. Frunze or at the Military Academy of the Soviet Army (otherwise it was called the Military-Diplomatic Academy). Graduates of the latter often went into the Service Foreign Intelligence GRU General Staff or the corps of military attaches.

The main purpose of special forces is reconnaissance and sabotage activities behind enemy lines. Primary targets - nuclear attack weapons, control and communication points, headquarters, complexes precision weapons, airfields and facilities air defense. The concept of the combat use of special forces units did not provide for its actions in the fight against partisans, gang groups, illegal armed groups, militants, etc. However, it was the special forces units that turned out to be most adapted to counterinsurgency warfare in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan and Chechnya due to their high morale, professionalism and flexible tactics. The special forces have to perform tasks that are completely unusual for them - guarding arsenals and airfields, escorting columns, personal protection of senior officers of the district headquarters and the headquarters itself, searching for and destroying armed deserters. (There were also very exotic tasks, such as searching for a missing artillery ammunition with a special charge) The assignment of typical tasks of infantry or commandant companies to scouts was most often associated with the degradation of the personnel of motorized rifle units and, as a consequence, the inability to carry out their tasks.

At the end of the 90s, special mining companies were abolished in the brigades. Individual companies were abolished. The training regiment and the school for warrant officers were disbanded. Since 2010, there has been no recruitment of cadets to the Novosibirsk Higher Educational Institution for the faculty of special intelligence. The recruitment of special forces officers to military academies and special courses has been stopped. The military-political leadership of the country also decided to disband individual special forces brigades. Today there are four of them left in the country's Armed Forces! The Russian Federation is not the USSR, the territory is smaller and there seems to be no global enemy, but it is very reckless to do so, I think!

In fact, special forces units remained the only units capable of resisting irregular armed groups in local conflicts. Price combat experience special forces - more than eight hundred dead scouts! And it turns out that no one needs it! And this is at a time when the Caucasus is burning, and sparks are flying to the central part of the country. Personally, I don’t understand such decisions. A gift for the holiday was the recent decision of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense to abolish the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. We don't need military intelligence! This is what Serdyukov decided. The Supreme Commander approved! Of course, the officers have not gone away - they have joined the ranks of the FSB and FSO, Vympel and anti-terrorist regional centers, riot police, and so on. Others joined the orderly ranks of the oligarchs’ personal guards; some went into business, others into crime. But this is another story, this is not the story of special forces.

Happy holiday! Happy 61st Special Forces Anniversary!

In 1953, during a large-scale reduction of the Armed Forces of the USSR, 35 separate special-purpose companies were disbanded. The 11 remaining companies were distributed as follows:
66th OrSpN
67th OrSpN
75th OrSpN(military unit 61272, Northern Military District, Olonets);
77th OrSpN(military unit 71108, Baltic Military District, 11th Guards Army, Kaliningrad, RSFSR);
78th OrSpN(military unit 61290, Belorussian Military District, 28th Army, Grodno, Belarusian SSR);
81st OrSpN(military unit 61321, Carpathian Military District, 13th Army, Lutsk, Volyn region, Ukrainian SSR);
82nd OrSpN(military unit 71116, Carpathian Military District, 38th Army, Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk), Ukrainian SSR);
85th OrSpN
86th OrSpN
91st OrSpN(military unit 51423, Central Asian Military District, Kazandzhik);
92nd OrSpN(military unit 51447, Northern Group of Forces, Shekon, Poland).

In addition, the remaining companies were transferred under the control of the High Command of the Ground Forces. The total number of personnel is 1,320 people.

The disbandment of so many combat units was a heavy blow for military intelligence as a whole. So, on January 11, 1957, Major General N.V. Sherstnev sent a memo to the Chief of the General Staff, in which he pointed out that the companies do not have the ability to provide comprehensive combat training, and proposed, instead of 11 companies, to create 3 special forces detachments and one air squadron of district subordination. The number of the detachment would have been about 400 people.

The then Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov appreciated the potential of special intelligence and relied on it big hopes in a possible war. Issued on his direct orders, by the directive of the Chief of the General Staff No. ОШ/1/224878 dated August 9, 1957 and the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces dated August 25, 1957, 5 separate special-purpose battalions were formed, subordinate to the commanders of military districts and groups of forces. The base and personnel of 8 special forces companies were used to form battalions.

In accordance with the directive of the Chief of the General Staff No. ОШ/1/244878 of August 9, 1957, the following were formed:
26th ObSpN(military unit 24584, Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Weber-Hafel), formed on the basis of the 66th and 67th Special Forces, the strength of battalion number 04/26 was 485 people, commander: lieutenant colonel R.P. Mosolov;
27th ObSpN(military unit 42551, Northern Group of Forces, Strzegom, then Legnica), formed on the basis of the 92nd Special Forces, the number of battalion number 04/25 was 376 people, commander: Lieutenant Colonel M. P. Pashkov;
36th ObSpN(military unit 32104, Carpathian Military District, Drohobych, Lviv region), formed on the basis of the 81st and 82nd Special Forces, the number of battalion number 04/25 was 376 people, commander: Lieutenant Colonel Shapovalov;
43rd ObSpN(military unit 32105, Transcaucasian Military District, Manglisi, then Lagodekhi, Georgian SSR), formed on the basis of the 85th and 86th Special Forces, the strength of battalion number 04/25 was 376 people, commander: lieutenant colonel I.I. Helever;
61st ObSpN(military unit 32110, Turkestan Military District, Kazandzhik, then Samarkand, Uzbek SSR), formed on the basis of the 91st Special Forces, the strength of battalion No. 04/24 was 253 people, commander: Lieutenant Colonel Tormtsev.

Three companies were kept separate, but they were transferred to a new state No. 04/23, the number of the company was 123 people:
75th OrSpN(military unit 61272, Southern Group of Forces, Nyiregyhaze);
77th OrSpN(military unit 71108, Baltic Military District, Kaliningrad);
78th OrSpN(military unit 61290, Odessa Military District, Simferopol).

The separate special forces battalion included three special forces companies, a special radio communications platoon, training platoon, logistics platoon.

The separate special forces company included a command and control unit, two reconnaissance platoons, a training reconnaissance platoon, a communications platoon, an automobile and utility department. A total of 112 people, incl. 9 officers and 9 conscripts, 6 vehicles (1 GAZ-69, 1 GAZ-51, 4 GAZ-63), 1 radio station R-118 based on ZIL-157. They were armed with AKS-47 assault rifles, PD-47 parachutes, then D-1 and D-1-8.

Individual battalions and special-purpose companies were located in border districts and groups of forces and were subordinate to the commanders of districts and groups. Combat training of the newly formed units began on December 1, 1957.

For the training of special forces officers, the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, by directive of the National General Staff No. 1546 of August 9, 1957, ordered the formation of a second airborne school (in addition to Ryazan) in the GRU General Staff system by January 15, 1958 and to deploy it in Tambov. As is known, this attempt served as a reason for the removal of the marshal from his post, and the school was never created.

The second wave of the formation of special forces units occurred in 1961. In order to strengthen the special reconnaissance of the districts, in addition to the existing units, directives of the General Staff No. Org/3/61588 of August 21, 1961 and No. OSH/2/347491 of August 26, 1961 By October 1, 1961, 8 more separate special-purpose companies were formed:
791st OrSpN(military unit 71603, Siberian Military District, Berdsk);
793rd OrSpN(military unit 55511, Moscow Military District, Voronezh);
799th OrSpN(military unit 55577, North Caucasus Military District, Novocherkassk, Rostov region);
806th OrSpN(military unit 64656, Transbaikal Military District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia);
808th OrSpN(military unit 71606, Privolzhsky Military District, Kuibyshev);
820th OrSpN(military unit 55576, Kiev Military District, Chernigov);
822nd OrSpN(military unit 74973, Ural Military District, Sverdlovsk);
827th OrSpN(military unit 55505, Far Eastern Military District, Belogorsk).

Thus, by the end of 1961, the GRU special forces consisted of 5 separate battalions and 11 separate companies, which included 2,870 people on staff.

The reason for the creation of special-purpose units in the Armed Forces of the USSR was the appearance in the arsenal of a potential enemy of mobile nuclear attack weapons for operational-tactical and tactical purposes. Spetsnaz was conceived as a means of detecting the means of a nuclear attack behind enemy lines and having the ability to independently destroy it.

In addition to the destruction of nuclear attack weapons, other tasks facing the special forces in the first years of its existence were: conducting reconnaissance of the concentration of enemy troops and objects in its deep rear; carrying out sabotage on enemy rear facilities and communications, creating panic and disorganization of rear operations; organization and leadership of the national liberation movement; extermination of prominent military and politicians enemy. However, the latter task was subsequently removed from the governing documents.

In accordance with the directive of the Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky No. Org/2/395832 dated October 24, 1950, separate special-purpose companies are created under combined arms and mechanized armies, as well as under military districts that did not have army associations. In pursuance of this directive, in 1950 - 1953, according to state 04/20, 46 special-purpose companies were formed (41 army and 5 front-line in the border military districts of the western direction - the Baltic, Leningrad, Belarusian, Carpathian and Odessa):
66th OrSpN(military unit 71060, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 3rd shock army, Gusen);
67th OrSpN(military unit 61249, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 8th Guards Army, Halle);
68th OrSpN(military unit 51198, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 1st Guards Mechanized Army);
69th OrSpN(military unit 71063, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 2nd Guards Mechanized Army, Alt-Strelitz), commander: captain F.I. Gredasov;
70th OrSpN(military unit 61253, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 3rd Guards Mechanized Army);
71st OrSpN(military unit 51200, Group of Soviet occupation forces in Germany, 4th Guards Mechanized Army);
72nd OrSpN(military unit 71097, Central Group of Forces);
73rd OrSpN(military unit 61256, Northern Group of Forces);
74th OrSpN(military unit 71104, Ural Military District, Separate Mechanized Army, village of Aramil, Sverdlovsk region, RSFSR);
75th OrSpN(military unit 61272, Belomorsky Military District, village of Nurmalishche, Olonetsky District, Karelo-Finnish Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic);
76th OrSpN(military unit 51404, Leningrad Military District, Promezhitsy village, Pskov region, RSFSR);
77th OrSpN(military unit 71108, Baltic Military District, 11th Guards Army, Kaliningrad, RSFSR), commander: captain S. Tokmakov;
78th OrSpN(military unit 61290, Belarusian Military District, 28th Army, Grodno, BSSR);
79th OrSpN(military unit 51407, Belorussian Military District, 5th Guards Mechanized Army);
80th OrSpN(military unit 71109, Belarusian Military District, 7th Mechanized Army);
81st OrSpN(military unit 61321, Carpathian Military District, 13th Army, Lutsk, Volyn region, Ukrainian SSR);
82nd OrSpN(military unit 71116, Carpathian Military District, 38th Army, Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk), Ukrainian SSR);
83rd OrSpN(military unit 61338, Carpathian Military District, 8th Mechanized Army, Zhitomir, Ukrainian SSR);
84th OrSpN(military unit 51410, Odessa Military District);
85th OrSpN(military unit 71126, Transcaucasian Military District, 4th Army, Baku, Azerbaijan SSR);
86th OrSpN(military unit 61428, Transcaucasian Military District, 7th Guards Army, Yerevan, Armenian SSR);
87th OrSpN(military unit 51462, Turkestan Military District);
88th OrSpN(military unit 51422, Far Eastern Military District, 37th Guards Airborne Corps);
89th OrSpN(military unit 71127, Far Eastern Military District, 1st Separate Red Banner Army);
90th OrSpN(military unit 61432, Transbaikal Military District, 6th Guards Mechanized Army);
91st OrSpN(military unit 51423, Primorsky Military District, 5th Army, Talovy village), commander: Major Rusinov;
92nd OrSpN(military unit 51447, Primorsky Military District, 25th Army, Fighter Station Kuznetsov, Budennovsky District, Primorsky Territory), commander: Major S.I. Dubovtsev;
93rd OrSpN(military unit 71138, Primorsky Military District, 39th Army, Port Arthur, China);
94th OrSpN(military unit 61442, Far Eastern Military District, 14th Army);
95th OrSpN(military unit 61508, Separate airborne army, 8th Guards Airborne Corps);
96th OrSpN(military unit 71200, Separate Airborne Army, 15th Guards Airborne Corps);
97th OrSpN(military unit 71143, Separate Airborne Army, 38th Guards Airborne Corps);
98th OrSpN(military unit 61453, Separate Airborne Army, 39th Guards Airborne Corps);
99th OrSpN(military unit 51413, Arkhangelsk Military District, Arkhangelsk, RSFSR);
100th OrSpN(military unit 71145, Kiev Military District, 1st Guards Army, Nezhin, Chernigov region, Ukrainian SSR), commander: captain P.A. Malyakshin;
195th OrSpN(military unit 61503, Moscow Military District);
196th OrSpN(military unit 51425, Privolzhsky Military District);
197th OrSpN(military unit 51506, Ural Military District);
198th OrSpN(military unit 71147, South Ural Military District);
199th OrSpN(military unit 61504, East Siberian Military District);
200th OrSpN(military unit 51428, West Siberian Military District);
226th OrSpN(military unit 51511, North Caucasus Military District);
227th OrSpN(military unit 71185, Donskoy Military District, Novocherkassk, Rostov region, RSFSR), commander: captain A.A. Snegirev;
228th OrSpN(military unit 61507, Tavrichesky Military District);
229th OrSpN(military unit 51440, Gorky Military District);
230th OrSpN(military unit 71187, Voronezh Military District).

Organizationally, the special purpose company included three special purpose platoons, a training platoon and a communications platoon with a telephone and radio interception group. The authorized number of personnel according to State No. 04/20 of a separate special-purpose company (in the army, for reasons of secrecy, they were simply called reconnaissance companies) was 112 people, including 9 officers, 10 sergeants and foremen of long-term service (warrant officers in the Soviet Army at that time not yet) and 93 sergeants and conscripts.

The formation of individual companies took place both from scratch and on the basis of already existing reconnaissance units. For example, the 76th separate special purpose company of the Leningrad Military District was formed on the basis of the training reconnaissance and sabotage platoon of the 237th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 76th Guards Airborne Division (Leningrad Military District, Pskov), and the 69th I am a separate special purpose company of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Army - on the basis of a separate reconnaissance battalion 9th Guards tank division. Responsibility for the formation and training of special forces units was assigned to the intelligence departments of the headquarters of the corresponding military districts.

When training personnel, the main attention was paid to reconnaissance, sabotage, airborne training and mine demolition using special means.

General management of the special forces units was entrusted to a specially created direction under the 2nd department of the 3rd directorate (military intelligence) of the 2nd Main Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. It was headed by Colonel P.I. Stepanov.

“...in despotic states, governments
create two armies: one to fight their own
enemies, and the other in order to keep in
obedience to one's own people."
J. Fuller,
British military historian

“There were no police special forces in the USSR -
democracy was not developed..."
V. Vlasenko,
Colonel, veteran of the Internal Troops

Donetsk special forces - soldiers of the 23rd separate special forces battalion of the NSU, 1998.

At the end of the 1970s. In the USSR, new, hitherto unknown, types of crimes are becoming widespread: terrorist hijacking of aircraft, hostage-taking in correctional labor institutions, etc. For actions in such extreme situations specially trained groups of military personnel were required, ready for skillful, decisive and quick actions to neutralize dangerous criminals. This was also very relevant in connection with the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in 1980.

The first attempt to create such a unit in the Ministry of Internal Affairs system dates back to 1973. Then, as part of a special operation to free hostages captured at the Bykovo airport in the Moscow region, a consolidated operational military detachment (SOVO) was formed. However, upon completion of the operation it was disbanded.

But special forces were needed. As a result, in accordance with the order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs dated December 29, 1977, on the basis of the 9th (sports) company of the 3rd battalion of the 2nd motorized rifle regiment named after. Sixtieth anniversary of the Komsomol (military unit 3186), which was part of the famous Separate Motorized Rifle Order of Lenin and the Order of the October Revolution of the Red Banner Special Purpose Division of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. F.E. Dzerzhinsky (military unit 3111, Reutovo, Moscow region), a special purpose training company (URSpN) was formed. This unit, which later became the Vityaz special forces detachment, was intended primarily for the development and application of training programs for special forces units of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The first special forces unit proved to be quite successful, and the Combat Training Directorate of the GUVV made a decision on the further development of special forces. By order of the head of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR dated April 10, 1979, motorized rifle and special motorized units were created for action in critical situations educational units special purpose. They were trained according to a general program of combat and political training; during physical training, the emphasis was on learning techniques hand-to-hand combat, which were necessary to apprehend especially dangerous criminals.

In Donetsk, the URSpN was formed in 1990 as part of the 50th separate motorized rifle regiment operational purpose Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (military unit 3395).

For lovers military history It is known that the history of the Soviet armed forces is fraught with many secrets and mysteries. The origin (so to speak) of the 50th Motorized Rifle Regiment is also a mystery.

The fact is that this part had, as it were, two stories: real and mythological, so to speak legendary. Moreover, the highlight (or, as they would say now, “trick”) is that the mythological story has become official history parts, but the real one was happily forgotten.

According to the official (that is, mythological) version, this military unit was created in 1926 to guard the western border of the USSR in the city of Sebezh as the 11th Sebezh border detachment of the OGPU. Then the 11th border detachment was part of the NKVD troops of the Leningrad District and was stationed in the village. Red Leningrad region. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 001419 of September 25, 1941, the border detachment was reorganized into the 11th border regiment. In the period 1941 - 1945. part performed combat missions to protect the rear of the Northern, North-Western, Volkhov, 2nd Baltic and 1st Ukrainian fronts, and then began to protect the rear of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOVG). In May 1946, the unit became known as the 11th Infantry Regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to another (real, but forgotten) version, the 11th Infantry Regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs was formed by order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 0012 dated January 12, 1949 in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Germany) to protect uranium ore mining and enrichment facilities . And he had nothing in common, except for his number, with the 11th Border Regiment.

It is no longer possible to establish which of the political officers (namely, they most often dealt with the history of military units) attributed the heroic military past to the regiment. But everyone liked this “past” and successfully took root.

By order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 004 of January 21, 1957, in connection with the disbandment of the Directorate of Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Germany, the 11th Infantry Regiment was withdrawn to the territory of the USSR and located in the city of Stalino (since 1961 - Donetsk).

By order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 0507 of August 22, 1957, the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR was reorganized into the 67th separate motorized rifle division of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (military unit 3395).

By order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 0055 of November 28, 1968, the 67th division was transformed into the 510th separate motorized rifle battalion of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (military unit 3395).

In the late 1980s - early 1990s. parts of the internal troops took an active part in establishing law and order during numerous interethnic conflicts on the territory of the USSR. But it was difficult for them to cope with the workload. The command of the internal troops, having carried out analytical calculations, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to increase the organizational number of operational units.

As a result, by order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 03 of January 18, 1990, the 510th battalion was deployed into the 50th separate motorized rifle regiment operational purpose of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (military unit 3395).

And immediately the servicemen of the newly created regiment had the opportunity to take part in ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani armed conflict in Nakhichevan, making three service trips to the confrontation zone: in the spring and summer of 1990 and in the spring of 1991.

By Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR No. 1465-XII of August 30, 1991 “On the subordination of internal troops stationed on its territory to Ukraine,” units and subunits of the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs stationed on the territory of the republic came under the jurisdiction of Ukraine.

On November 4, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law of Ukraine No. 1774-XII “On the National Guard of Ukraine”. According to the law, the National Guard was entrusted with the functions of protecting the constitutionality and integrity of Ukraine, participating in the elimination of the consequences of accidents and natural disasters, protecting borders, especially important government facilities, embassies and consulates of foreign states, public order.

By order of the Commander of the NSU No. 02 of January 2, 1992, on the basis of the 50th separate operational motorized rifle regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (military unit 3395), the 11th NSU regiment (military unit 4111) was formed. At the same time, the regimental special forces company was deployed into a special forces battalion.

Sleeve patches of the special forces battalion of the 11th NSU regiment, 1992 - 1998.

In accordance with Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 158 “On measures to protect state border Ukraine with the Republic of Moldova” dated March 17, 1992, military personnel of the regiment’s special forces battalion took part in protecting the Ukrainian border in the Transnistrian armed conflict zone.

In 1995, the command and control units of the regiment moved from the street. Neftyanoy on the street. Kuprin, to the barracks of the former Donetsk Higher Military-Political School engineering troops and signal troops named after. Army General A.A. Episheva. In 1996, the 11th NSU Regiment included a special forces battalion (military unit 4111 “S”), which remained on the street. Neftyanoy, 2 motorized rifle battalions (2 companies each), fire support division, anti-aircraft division (armed with ZU-23-2 installations), combat support company, logistics company, repair company, communications company. The combat equipment of the regiment's units was very diverse and consisted of three types of armored personnel carriers BTR-60PB, BTR-70 and BTR-80.

"Show off" - demonstration performances of special forces

In 1995 – 1996 As part of the further improvement of the organizational and staffing structure of the NSU, which suffered significant “losses” when transferring part of its units to the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, separate special-purpose units were created within the guard. The first such unit was the 17th separate special purpose battalion of the NSU "White Panther" (military unit 2215), formed on April 4, 1995 on the basis of the special purpose battalion of the 1st regiment of the NSU (military unit 4101, Kiev) in With. New Petrovtsi, Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region. And the second was the 23rd separate special-purpose battalion of the NSU “Grom” (military unit 2243), formed on December 26, 1996 on the basis of the special-purpose battalion of the 11th regiment of the NSU (military unit 4111, Donetsk).

Sleeve patch and a special emblem on the headdress (beret) of the 23rd separate special forces battalion of NSU

Two years later, during the next reform in the guard, by order of the KNSU No. 365 of December 26, 1998, the 11th NSU Regiment was transformed into the 26th NSU Special Purpose Brigade (military unit 4111).

In accordance with Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 1586/99 “On the transfer of units of the National Guard of Ukraine to other military formations” dated December 17, 1999 and Law of Ukraine No. 1363-XIV “On the disbandment of the National Guard of Ukraine” dated January 11, 2000, by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine No. 37 “On the acceptance into the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine of formations, military units, establishments, institutions of the National Guard of Ukraine and their subordination” dated January 19, 2000, the 26th brigade and the 23rd separate special forces battalion of the NSU became part of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

After some time, the 26th brigade was reorganized into the 44th operational regiment of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (military unit 4111), and the 23rd separate battalion became part of it, becoming the regiment’s line special forces battalion.

Subsequently, the 44th regiment was reorganized into the 34th separate operational battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (military unit 4111), which was disbanded on November 20, 2004. Its personnel as a line operational battalion were merged into the 17th special motorized police regiment of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (military unit 3037).

But this sad story of the “death” of Donetsk special forces units was not without its curiosity. Now political officers (that is, deputies for educational work) the 17th motorized police regiment “privatized” the legendary version of the formation of the 50th separate motorized rifle regiment of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs and derived a new pedigree from the 11th border regiment of the NKVD during the Great Patriotic War simply based on the fact that the linear battalion of the operational purpose of the regiment when - belonged to the glorious cohort of special forces of the Internal Troops.

Former commander 23rd Special Purpose Battalion NSU A.S. Nadochy

And, finally, a few words about another little-known unit of the Donetsk special forces. By order of the commander National Guard Ukraine No. 85 dated April 15, 1998, a separate special-purpose reconnaissance company (military unit 2240 “R”) was formed as part of the 4th NSU Division (military unit 2240, Donetsk). The company's personnel consisted of 7 officers, 1 warrant officer, 12 contract soldiers and 52 conscript soldiers and sergeants. Athletes and strong guys from special forces throughout the division were selected for the company. At the airfield OSOU (Society for Assistance to the Defense of Ukraine, former DOSAAF) near the city of Mospino, airborne training with parachute jumps was organized for the company's military personnel, after which the reconnaissance officers were awarded airborne blue berets. In 1999, the company was renamed the Separate Intelligence Unit for Special Purpose and Anti-Terrorism. After the transfer of NSU units to the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, its tradition was inherited by the special-purpose reconnaissance company of the 17th special motorized police regiment (military unit 3037), although it consisted entirely of contract soldiers, and parachute jumps took place at the OSOU airfield near the city of Volnovakha at your own expense...

Separate reconnaissance unit of the 4th division of the NSU, Mospino, 1998.